Generally, car door interiors include a door trim assembly in the form of an interior substrate with an armrest affixed thereto. The armrest of the door trim assembly may provide a padded ledge, on which a passenger may position an arm. Commonly, an armrest extends to a portion that may include a “pull-cup,” which may generally be an opening or cavity in the armrest intended to be used by a driver or passenger to pull the car door closed from the interior of the car.
Some door trim assemblies include an armrest having a two-piece construction in which the armrest itself is provided as one unit and the pull-cup (and, optionally, other features) is provided in another unit that is attached to and extends from the armrest unit. In other configurations, the armrest and pull-cup can be included in a single one-piece construction where both features are integrated into a single unit that can sometimes span close to the entire length of a door's interior. While two-part configurations may be desirable for reasons including cost, assembly, or appearance, two-part assemblies may separate along the junction between units as a result of deformation of the overall door assembly resulting from a real-world or simulated test crash.
It is desirable to provide a robust coupling that is useable in a two-part armrest and pull-cup assembly having to reduce separation between the two units during a crash, post-crash, or other event.